Art History
1/12/2010
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Abstract Expressionism: late 1940s and 1950s New York Modern Art: a) a history period in Western culture that beginning in the late 18th Century continues until today. b) Two events that triggered Modern Art: 1st – French Revolution ( 1789) 2nd – Industrial Revolution began in England in the late 18th Century and transformed European productive system, which became organized around the opposition between work & capital. ; Capitalism was introduced; Capitalism over Craftsmanship
* ‐ Allentation ( in Marxist theory) a condition of workers in capitalist economy, resulting from a lack of identity with the products of their labor and, therefore, a sense of being cotrolled or exploited ‐
Two explainations of abstractionism: 1st – lack of a political address; and 2nd – the crisis of traditional craftsmanship.
General characteristics of Painting & Sculpture: 1‐ 2‐ 3‐ 4‐ 5‐ 6‐
Illusory ( perspective) Specific addressee ( Aristocracy & Commerical Bourgeoisic) Based on craftsmanship Representational ( referent in the real) Opposition between Art and World Autonomy ( relative)
Modern Art: Systematically rejected, refused, and destroyed ( deconstructed) these characteristics in an attempt to join Art and the world into the same reality, revealing the crisis that characterizes capitalist society. The Period of Modern Art: 1‐ Romanticism/ Realist: Neoclassicism‐ Post‐ Impressionism ( 1789‐ 1907) It was still representational, but began the deconstruction of the characteristics of Renaissance art as they were defined by the Academy 2 ‐ Modernist ( Avant‐garde) Cubisim – Abstract Expressionism ( 1907‐ 1950s) creation of Abstractionism, and the ensuing attempt to deconstruct all representational characteristics of traditional art. The work is autonomous, self‐ referential, and medium‐ specifics. The debate about the End of Art One of the greatest revolution in Western Art 3‐ Contemporary Art ex: Auda Capro Pop Art‐ Today ( 1960s on) Institutional Impasse of the 1960s: what is possible to make after the avant‐ garade has finished all differntiations between the practice of art and other social activies? Based on the following paradox: a statement might be considered artistic if it is able to create a new concept, experience, or practice for the field of art. ( Allan Kaprow and Lygla Clark). Definition of paradox: “ a seemingly absurd or self‐ contraditictory statement or propostion that when investigated or explained may prove to be well funded or true. Main Characteristic Contemporary Art is based on Interdisclplinarity, contextualization and insertion into other social practices